Always in the Abstract
by baby-rose15
Summary: It's not Castle. Since Castle is standing behind me would be the most logical reason. I take another step forward, feeling the eyes of all three of them on me slowly cataloging the minute differences. His hair is a little darker, and skin a little paler. He's a bit taller than Castle bit leaner, a thinner structure over all. The eyes aren't brilliant blue.
1. The Riviere

**Chapter 1 – The Riviere**

Chirp.

Chirp.

Chirp.

Chirp. I finally manage to get a hand out of the covers around the offending device before it has a chance to slice the silence once more. "Beckett," I whisper flopping onto my back closing my eyes just listening to dispatch run down the details, brief as they were.

Combing a hand through my hair I squint at the clock that reads four minutes after four. "Ok, text me the address, notify Detectives Ryan and Esposito. I'll be there in an hour."

I'd been whispering in an effort to let him get just a few more moments of precious sleep. But even as I hit end on the call I can feel him rolling over next to me, warm questing fingers sliding across my bare hipbone. Easily sliding over the opposing hip when I roll into him, and his eyelids flutter open.

Reaching up I slip my fingers through his hair, sweeping it off his forehead. "Morning," I breath into him, tipping my head to catch his lips letting my forehead rest against his and my eyelids to drift closed, relishing in the warm floating sensation of his bed anchored by nothing but his arm around my waist and his breath fluttering over my cheek as he fights to stay conscious.

"Does it count as morning if the birds haven't even started singing?"

I can't help but chuckle a little bit pulling myself closer. "It's February there aren't any birds to sing, besides we live in Manhattan there's really only pigeons."

"You are far too coherent for this conversation," he groans tracing patterns on my back, catching my lips in a soft sleepy kiss, slipping his tongue through my lips to run soft patters over mine, enticing me to stick with more traditional middle of the night activities.

Eventually, I force myself away from the heat of his body. Sitting up pushing the covers out of my way trying to escape. "Come on Castle. We've got a body," I tell him, forcing myself towards the shower. Chuckling when I hear the swear fall from his lips when he trips in his rush to join me.

########

The sky is barely showing signs of morning when we pull up in front of the building on the lower east side. Castle has been chattering incessantly next to me the entire way there. It's his way of staying awake that early in the morning, just constantly talking. To the other drivers on the road, to the radio hosts with their inane morning talk, and to me. It's generally about nothing, and usually pretty entertaining because his story spinning is not at its finest as he works his way through the first cup of coffee in the pre-dawn dark.

The chatter comes to a halt as I pull into an open space on the curb, throwing the police tag on the dash in case someone was stupid enough to mistake my tricked out unmarked for a regular car. It's happened before. "This is where the crime scene is?" He's hesitant.

Normally he's incredulous, but there's something in his tone that makes me turn back to him and ask, "This is the address dispatch gave me why?"

He shrugs closing his door and joining her on the sidewalk, still looking up at the building. "It's just that this is the safest building in New York."

"What do you mean by that?" I can't get over how puzzled he looks at the moment, like the idea that something horrible could happen in such a nice place shakes him to the core, even though we see some horrific things in places like this all the time.

"Well it's got biometric security, a full security detail at all times, video and bio feeds into all the apartments, and they run a background check on everyone that enters the premise." He tells me, eyes finally coming off the sky rise in front of them too look at me, the crease between his eyes only getting deeper, we haven't even seen the crime scene yet and he's already grappling with how this is even possible.

I stop for a moment and look up at the gargantuan building, puzzling over that for just a moment myself. Sucking in a deep breath I determine there is no way that this case is going to be easy is there? "Well, maybe we'll get lucky and all of those security measures mean that we'll be able to catch the guy right away."

"Then why'd we even get called in at all. Shouldn't the security team have detained whoever committed the crime so uniforms could come down and get the suspect and take him into custody. Dispatched wouldn't have called us so early if it was that easy."

"I don't know Castle," I shake my head.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he says under his breath. In four years, I don't think that I've ever heard him say anything like that. Normally he'd be vibrating with excitement over a splashy murder in a high security building throwing out spy conspiracies right and left.

"You don't have to be in on this one." I pull open the door, only to find ourselves in what looks like a decontamination chamber, flickering to life. "You can go home."

"I have a bad feeling about something and your first instinct is to send me home? No thanks, someone's got to stay here and protect you," a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

"Says the man without a gun." I hip check him gently hoping for a bigger smile. But any sense of ease drops away as the doors in front of us open and a huge man in an Armani suit and an earpiece, gun visible on his waist, followed by a man in all black clutching an assault rifle.

"You must be Detective Beckett and Richard Castle?" Armani says.

Pulling out my badge I offer it to the man, "And you are?" I prompt even as he carefully studies the badge.

"Mr. Harris, Head of Security here at the Riviere," he introduces himself apparently satisfied by the badge. "Before you can go up we're going to have to get some basic information from you."

"I'm sorry?" This is getting a little out of control it's 5am in the middle of February, there's a crime scene somewhere in this building and we're being instructed to hand over personal information by a linebacker in a suit.

"We'll need a fingerprint, and optic scan from both of you," he says curtly, turning on his six and pushing open a panel that turns out to be a door leading us into, what apparently is an information gathering point.

"I'm sorry but this is unnecessary both of our prints are on file with the NYPD and I see no reason for you to take an optic scan." Castle huffs indignantly behind me; it's the first sound he's made since the appearance of Harris and his man in black.

"I do ask your apologies Detective, I simply want to get you in our system so that you can navigate the building yourself to some extent. You'll be needing the fingerprints to activate the elevator and the optic scan for the crime scene and building."

Shifting a little so I can catch Castle's profile next to me I try to gauge where he is on this absurd journey. We haven't even seen the body yet and I'm putting this down as one of the weirdest cases ever. There's a little nod from Castle, so I guess we might as well get on with it. "Quickly then. I'd like to see the body and crime scene before the day is over."

"Of course Detective, if you'll both just step this way." He ushers me over to a counter where the man in black as taken a seat next to a computer.

########

Ten minutes later Castle is having his eyeball scanned by the front door of the apartment that is the crime scene. "This is really cool," he hisses standing as still as possible while the thing in the wall reads his sparkling blues.

"So we're over the ominous feeling?" I ask.

He chuckles stepping back, "Not at all, but I'll take the feeling of boarding the starship enterprise anyway."

I can't help but smile and him with a shake of my head, even has the door slides efficiently into the wall. Finally admitting us entrance into the crime scene, which to my relief is in fact buzzing with techs and uniforms, dusting surfaces for prints, and tagging evidence. Ryan greets us in the streamlined entryway. "Welcome aboard." He grins looking at Castle to see how my partner is taking this morning, which so far is right up his alley.

"Glad we could make it," I scoff. "So what have we got?"

Ryan grins and wiggles his eyebrows, "This case is for you Castle. So much so that I'm going to say it first. C.I.A."

"Told you I had a bad feeling about this," mumbles Castle.

"And what on earth leads you to believe that is the case Ryan?" I snap my gloves on trying to ignore the level of giddiness that Ryan is exuding and the absolute calm almost terror that Castle is putting off.

"Well the victim is 37 year old Dennis Watson according to the build records and his license. He was unmarried, lived alone, and from every indication here worked at a bank. But that doesn't explain the apartment from the year three thousand." Ryan starts leading us through the apartment.

Esposito materializes, through what I can only assume is another sliding door, and joins in on the rundown. "There is no sign of forced entry, no fingerprints anywhere in the apartment including the victims, there is nothing on the security feed for the apartment, and no indications on the bio feeds to the apartment that there was ever anyone in here but Mr. Watson."

"How'd he die?" Castle asks

Ryan grins, "Well it looks like a bullet to the chest but you'll have to double check with Lanie."

"Did you find the weapon?" I ask them.

"Nope, no weapon, no shells."

"How is that possible? If there was no one in here but the vic there has to be a weapon and there has to be shells. This feels really bad Beckett."

"So you've said Castle," I snap because at this point that observation is not helping. "What else guys?"

"Well there's one more thing…" Espo hesitates

"But you should probably see if for yourselves." Ryan finishes and another door slides away in front of us opening up to the crime scene.

Sitting in an armchair directly across from us is a man with what is pretty clearly a gunshot wound to the chest. But that's not what catches my breath or causes Castle to jerk violently behind me.

Sitting in that chair is Castle.


	2. Famously Fatherless

**Thanks for the response :) Here's chapter 2.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Famously Fatherless**

It's not Castle.

Since Castle is standing behind me would be the most logical reason. I take another step forward, feeling the eyes of all three of them on me slowly cataloging the minuet differences. His hair is a little darker, and skin a little paler. He's a bit taller than Castle, bit leaner, a thinner structure over all. The eyes that have glazed over in death aren't the brilliant blue that normally sparkles with a theory but rather appears to have been a hazel green in life.

"Freaky right?"

"Sure you don't have any sibling's bro?"

The boys are ribbing him, and I'm not sure it's really what he needs right now, I can hear him clear his throat uncomfortably. I, however, am rather entranced by what surely has to be a relative of my partner sitting in the armchair of a space age apartment shot dead, with there being no apparent way for that to have happened.

Castle comes up behind me, is bulk creating a solid presence at my back. "It's not me."

"I know but you gotta admit Castle he looks an awful lot like you." I told him, gentle picking up the edge of the lapel to get a better look at the entry wound. "It looks like a .38." I lift my head hoping to get confirmation from Lanie who had just come back into the room.

"Your guess is as good as mine at the moment, it's the right size for a .38 but until we find a bullet I won't be able to confirm that." She responds gesturing the techs with the gurney to come in so that they could take the body back to the morgue.

"You think the bullet's still in him?" Castle lifts his head to Lanie, confusion still prevalent across his face.

Lanie just shakes her head, gesturing to the back of the chair. "It exited through here, or was dug out of here either way it's gone too."

Rocking back onto my heels I stand up. Surveying the scene, and the boys, before my eyes finally settle on Castle. The crease in his forehead seemingly permanent as he looks around. "Ok Boys, take Castle talk to a few neighbors."

All three of their heads snap to me, I never send all three of them off together. "Don't look so surprised guys, you pointed it out," I gesture to Castle with my notepad, "he looks almost exactly like the vic. Talk to people in the building even if they don't know Mr. Watson by name they might recognize his face."

"Kate..." Castle looks genuinely anxious but this whole thing.

"Don't worry Castle, I'm going to just talk to a few guys here and then I'll come grab you and we'll head back to the precinct see what we can run down on Mr. Watson there." I promise him.

"Come on Castle," Espo gives him a light jab in the arm, "let's go see if anyone knows your long-lost twin." I have to give it to Javi he's trying to keep things light and it works, sort of, as Castle gives a weak smile looking over at the body again before trooping out behind Espo and Ryan.

The door swishes closed between us and I turn to Lanie, "Don't even ask. The first thing I'm gonna do when I get to the morgue is run that test I'll let you know when I have an answer."

"Thank you Lanie."

"He really doesn't know if he has any siblings, or cousins?"

"He has no idea who his father is as far as I know." I look down at the body that's being moved into the body bag that could be clone of Castle at a distance, "I'm going to have to sit down with Martha aren't I?"

Lanie smirks just a bit, "Girlfriend, I'm not a detective but now if that test comes back that they are related, she's your only lead as of now."

The sun is barely cresting over the surrounding buildings and I'm already pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. Taking a deep breath and releasing it quickly. "Ok, I'm going to check in with CSU, and the building. Then I'll go roundup Castle and see if we can't come up with some more information on Dennis Watson.

* * *

Now he's quiet on the car ride back to the precinct staring out the window as if he can't even begin to put together the pieces. "Lanie's going to run a DNA test right when she gets him down town right?" He finally asks as I pull into my spot in the garage.

Reaching over the console, I lay a hand over the one he has nervously tapping on his kneecap. "Castle." It's a little sharper than it needs to be but it does the trick and he flips his head away from the window. "Treat this like any other case, it could be a complete coincidence remember that actor that looked just like you that Tyson used."

His eyes cleared and little, "Yeah that's possible. Or, maybe I have a brother or a cousin I don't even know about. That's definitely possible, and nothing that wasn't possible before today."

Squeezing his kneecap, "That's what happens when you're famously fatherless."

"Maybe not for much longer." He smirks just a bit.

I lean over and press a gentle kiss to his cheek, "Come on Castle, let's go run this guy down before we do anything else."

"Can we at least get more coffee first?"

"Goes without saying." I tell him as we climb out of the car.

* * *

Lanie doesn't call until late in the afternoon. I can feel his eyes on me as I answer the phone trying to make non-committal noise as I listen to what she telling me, what she's offering Castle if he wants it. "Ok Lanie." I jerk my head in the direction of the empty break room, to Castle. I just want him out of the hustle and bustle of the bullpen. He nods standing slowly to walk next to me as we make our way over to the blessedly empty break room. "I'll let you know."

I hang up on her, closing the break room door behind me and crossing the room to close its other entrance from the hallway. Taking the second just to gather my wits before I have to tell him. Turn back I find him leaning against the table just looking at me, "He's my brother."

"Half brother." I correct, "On your father's side." Stepping closer, reaching a hand out to run down his arm, "Are you ok?"

"Um..." He shifts against the table, eyes coming up to meet mine, "yeah I think so..." He stalls out, "... it's just there's the concept that the man we walked in to find dead this morning is my brother and there's the reality. She's sure?"

"Yeah she's sure." We're both quiet for a moment, before he lets out a steady stream of air in annoyance, exhaustion, confusion, "Why don't we go down have Lanie talk you through the science of it."

He nods, "Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. Have all the facts before we talk to my mother."

I chuckle a little, squeezing his elbow. "You came to that conclusion too."

His hand came up and covered mine, "Well given that we have nothing on him besides he's my brother and his name is an alias it would appear the illustrious Martha Rodgers is our best lead on at least finding out who this guy is, and even that is not a very good lead."

"Why?"

"She's always told me she didn't even know who he was, she can guess around when she got pregnant but she really has no idea. The first solid lead I ever got was when Sophia said that thing about him being CIA, and I don't really know how valid that is or how to even begin chasing that down. But that might explain why it looks like a ghost killed him, just a CIA ghost."

I want to laugh, I really want to laugh because normally when he suggests the CIA I roll my eyes tell him he's ridiculous and that's the end of it, or he tries to flush it out. But right now, he's not wrong we have absolutely nothing to go on at the moment besides those two things. "Seriously Castle, it's only been the CIA once."

"Maybe twice, I still don't know about that case where we were abducted..." He smiles, shakes his head. "I'm okay, Kate."

"Are you sure?"

"No." He shakes his head pushing off the table to stand up right in front of me, "But I'm not upset just trying to adjust to the reality that I had a sibling that I'll never know."

That seems to cover it for now. And to be honest the precinct break room isn't where we should actually talk about it. Glancing at my father's watch, I decide on a game plan. "Let's go have Lanie walk us through and then go home, talk to Martha, and call it a night."

"You're coming home with me?"

"Yeah I'm coming home with you." I smile, risking the windows to lean in a brush my lips over his, "let's go to the morgue."

"When we solve this case I'm going to work on getting you to kiss me here way more often."

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Babyrose  
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	3. Astronauts

**Thanks for the response guys! I'm glad you like it! The goal is to update it twice a week. Maybe more regularly depending on life schedule stuff.  
**

**If I owned Castle I would spend mine time with Stana's hair stylist trying to learn their secrets.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Astronauts**

I can feel her watching me, from the bed. She's pretending to fiddle on her phone, checking the slew of emails she's probably gotten in the last hour. But she's really watching me. Tracking my movements as I take off my watch and unbutton the cuffs of my shirt so that I can roll the sleeves up. Catching her eyes in the mirror, "The starring is creepy."

Dropping her phone, she unfolds her legs and gets up off the bed crossing the distance to plaster herself to my back. "Gotta make up for lost time." She says with a kiss to my shoulder before settling her chin on it. "What time do you think Martha will be home?"

I glanced at my watch quickly, "Probably not for a couple of hours. She has class tonight, and then she tends to stay at the studio and take care of some office stuff."

She nods her head not taking her eyes off mine. "Let's order dinner and watch a movie? Your choice."

I turn to look at her a little skeptical, "I picked the last one?"

"Well apparently I forfeited two turns when I chose _Valentine's Day."_

I can't help it I lean and press a kiss to her temple in thanks, "You're amazing. You know that?"

* * *

There's a murmuring coming from the living room when I wake up, smushed in the leather chair. Last thing I remember is playing with her ponytail as she sat in front of me half way through the movie. But I can hear her lyrical voice mingling with my mothers in the other room. At least I think it's my mother, it could be Alexis but its Thursday night and she has class on Friday morning.

Scrubbing my face trying to wake up just a bit so that I can go out there and join them. I ease myself out of the chair reminding myself, for what must be the three hundred and seventy sixth time, that I am too old to fall asleep in the armchair any more.

It is Martha that Kate is talking to when I manage to hobble my way to the doorway, ugh I must of have done something to my back, this is horrible. Kate is holding a cup of tea, the steam wafting over her face; meanwhile Mother is clutching her standard glass of wine. Kate's smile is soft and loving as Martha seems to be telling her a story about astronauts.

"There you are dear," she smiles indulgently at me, as Kate stretches out a hand to beckon me over.

"Martha was telling me about when you were certain that your dad was an astronaut, and that you would be too." She grins happily at me, she likes learning these little back-stories as much as I do.

"Yes, well to be fair, I also thought he was the inventor of whip cream in a can, that he had walked around the world, there was a while I was certain he was our neighbor, and that he was a spy. Although given this case he might be a spy." I told her as she used my hand to pull me onto the couch beside her, slipping her free hand over my thigh as she curled into me, and angled her body to continue talking to my mother.

"Yes dear," Martha reaches over and gives my cheek a squeeze, "but those two weeks you thought he was an astronaut were the most entertaining. You made yourself a space suit and dug up a fish bowl from the prop room of the show I was on. You wore it around all the time. It took everything I had to prevent you from wearing it to school."

Kate's eyes are sparkling with this story, like she can see little Richard Rogers running around with a fish bowl on his head pretending to be an astronaut. "I bet you were cute then." She smiles, fingers curling into my thigh.

"Because I'm not now?"

"You have your moments." She gives me that closed lipped smile, and I can't help it I lean in and kiss her very softly.

Turning to my mother, I decide to jump headlong into this mess, "I take it Kate told you about our case?"

Martha to her credit doesn't even look phased, she merely waves a wine laden hand at me, "Oh yes, she was telling me about your victim that apparently is your half brother. She was wondering if I knew who your father was."

"Do you?" I don't think I've ever just asked her before. I always had the impression that she didn't know and so it wouldn't make any sense to ask, but this case hasn't left us much of a choice.

"I'm so sorry dear but I have no idea." She leans over and captures my hand, "I've never told you the story did I?"

"Well there was the one woman show version."

"Well there's a lot of truth in that version, dears."

Kate chuckles against my shoulder, "The summer of shows and cast parties?"

"Well yes, it was a production of _The Merchant of Venice_ except it was set in the 1920's, it made little to no sense, but we took it on the road for the summer. It was the early seventies, there were cast parties and nights at the bar. And a lot of men."

"Mother's always fallen in love at first sight," I chuckle because it really has been a running joke of ours.

Martha, for her part does smile and laugh, "Well not all of us can fall in love with detectives or bestselling novelists." I can feel Kate's blush as she buries her head in my shoulder at Martha's usual level of bluntness. "Anyway, it wasn't until I got back to the city after that summer that I realized that I was pregnant..." she pauses for dramatic flair, "The truth is the only true love I've ever had is this kid."

She stands and ruffles my hair, "And he's got you," She smiles indulgently at Kate, looking more proud than anything else, "I wish I could be more help kids, I suppose when you have some suspects let me know, maybe I'll recognize one? Although I'm not sure I'd recognize myself if you asked twenty three year old me."

"It's alright Martha." Kate unfolds herself from the couch, laying a hand on my mother's arm. "We knew it was a long shot anyway." Martha, being Martha folds my girlfriend into a hug, whispering something in her ear that I couldn't hear. "Of course I will," Kate promised pulling back.

"Good night dears." Martha calls making her way upstairs.

Standing I looped arm around her waist, "What she say?"

"She wants me to keep an eye on you." Kate finally says turning back to me, "So you really thought he might be an astronaut?"

"He could be anything. Those were probably the first stories I ever told."

"So I have him to thank him for all the wild theories?" She's smiling at me, slipping closer.

"Apparently. You'll have to thank him for it when we meet him."

She must have seen something on my face because she lifts up on her toes and presses a kiss to my jaw then whispering fiercely, "Whoever he is it won't change who you are or how I feel about you."

I have to pull back at that, look at her face, "How's that?"

She smiles mischievously, "Come to bed Castle, we have a case to solve in the morning."

I catch her hand though before she can walk away, and gently tug her back to me ghosting my hand around her waist, and the _oh so_ soft sweater, the other hand sweeping her hair back so that I can cup her jaw as her whole body falls into mine. Soft, long, gracious curves fitting against my body more perfectly than I could have ever hoped.

"I love you." I tell her, just watching the golden flakes sparkling in her eyes as she smiles, even as her eyes flick to my lips and back up. That's all it takes for me to slant my lips over hers, tasting the remnants of our popcorn on her lips, and the uniquely Kate flavor and as her tongue strokes inside my mouth. Her fingers are wrapping themselves into my shirt when I hear her phone ring across the room.

"Ignore it." She mumbles into my mouth.

Sliding a hand under the sweater, changing the angle on the kiss, "I'm not the one that does that."

Her phone stops and mine starts in my back pocket. "They're never going to stop," she groans fishing the offending device out. "It's Ryan. Beckett." She answers crisply, even as she lays her head on my chest her free hand fiddling with my buttons. "I know I'm on Castle's phone, what is it?" She quiet, listening and I can't make out what Ryan is saying, he's talking too quickly to make out the meaning through the electronics, but Beckett seems to following. "Kev slow down... We'll be there in the morning. Go home."

Ryan is keeping on it though. "Ryan." She finally snaps, "Go home. It'll keep until morning we're not going to meet them right now. I'll call them in the morning, set something up with enough time for us to prep."

She now pushes of my chest, pacing. "Ok we'll meet you there... yeah, ok. It's fine, he's fine. We'll see you guys tomorrow, now go home... good night boys."

"What was that?" I ask her when she hands the phone back to me, biting her lip. Watching the picture of us go dark.

"Gates apparently got a call from NSA after we left, Ryan and Espo ran it down, it's solid… They're claiming Dennis Watson isn't Dennis Watson. That he's some sort of asset."

I can feel my eyelids fluttering in shock as I try to process why she's just told me. "I'm sorry," I swallow hard, "did you just tell me that my half brother that I didn't know existed until today is working with spies?"

She shrugs, "I guess your childhood theories weren't so far off."

"This is crazy."

She nods, "Crazy is one word for it."

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Babyrose**


	4. NSA Guy

**Chapter 4 – NSA Guy**

The mahogany table in the conference room is probably the nicest piece of furniture in the whole precinct. All I can focus is how the light is catching the knot at the just off the center. Ryan and Espo are across the table flipping through the files trying to look busy. Kate has gone to get us more coffee, Lanie is examining her fingernails, and Gates is in her office talking with a nondescript man in a ridiculously expensive suit, NSA guy. Seriously, what is it with guys on this case and their suits? They're making my closet seem reasonable.

NSA guy, directed us all into the conference room upon arrival closed the blinds to everything but Gates office ordering us to speak to no one else. We weren't trying supposed to leave the room but Beckett is asserting her own authority by fetching us all fresh coffee while we wait.

"Here you go." The cups hit the table, clunking on the hardwood, she must have been a waitress at some point five cups and a coffee pot in hand, I'll have to ask her about that sometime. "Anything interesting?" She asks tilting her head in the direction of NSA Guy and the Captain.

"Gates is not thrilled." Ryan responds, surreptitiously looking over at the Captain's office.

"Five minutes and that's what you've gleaned." Kate laughs with sarcasm plopping down in the seat next to me. "This is why we work for the NYPD and not the NSA." She smirks at Espo, even as she squeezes my knee.

"Any bets on how long before they grace us with their presence?" Lanie asks, clearly annoyed that she's been called in here.

The light shifts, the knot in the wood disappears, and I can focus on the room next door, only to see Gates and NSA Guy standing, "I think it's our turn."

Gates comes in first, she doesn't look pissed, but there's a line of caution in her forehead. "Detectives, Mr. Castle, Dr. Parish, this is Agent Clark from the National Security outpost here in New York"

"Good Morning," NSA guy says as if he expects us to chorus back to him _good morning _as if we were in a kindergarten classroom. Passing out files, he takes a seat at the head of the table, "Mr. Dennis Watson's given name is Ethan Caldwell. He has been working for an international bank on Asian accounts for the last fourteen years. He came to our attention three months ago when he notices inconsistencies on an account run by a company in Beijing."

"So he was an asset?" Espo asks, he hasn't even opened the file he's just carefully watching NSA Guy, military training I think, trying to get a read on the guy, seemingly ready to just give us the information we need.

"Yes." Agent Clark nods once, "He was encrypting the data regarding the accounts and delivering it to us."

"So why the safe house in the year 3000?" Ryan asks trying not to fidget with his tie.

"We moved him in there two weeks ago. Mr. Caldwell had a gambling problem in his youth. While his debts were paid up there were people looking for him, connected to illegal gambling rings which may be tied to the company that he was tracking the inconsistencies of."

I'm gonna admit that as far as all the Fed's we've worked with I like the NSA Guy the best so far. He was actually answering the questions, well sort of. Not enough for Beckett though, "I'm sorry Agent Clark you haven't actually told us anything useful at all. A Beijing company? Beijing is the biggest city in the world and has a lot of companies and illegal gambling rings are all over New York. Are you actually going to give us something useful and allow us to investigate? Or are you going to slap us with a decree from Homeland Security and take the body never to be seen again? Because if that's the case I'd rather not waste any more time."

I can see Gates out of the corner of my eye and unless I'm mistaken she's smirking with pride and the dress down Beckett delivered the Fed. Agent Clark, however, doesn't look remotely chuffed, "That's why I'm here Detective Beckett. Everything we have on Mr. Caldwell are in the file, and on the server available for your use. NSA doesn't have the manpower, or the jurisdiction to clear a murder of a low-level asset. Mr. Caldwell didn't have the best track record, had enemies at the personal level as well as on an international stage. Unless it turns out he was killed by a foreign agency it's really not our jurisdiction."

From her spot against the wall Gates clears her throat, "Agent Clark has given you five clearance to access all the information NSA has on Mr. Caldwell, and all the files they had before they wiped him from the system…"

"On the condition that should you come across something that indicates this is the work of a rival intelligence agency you will notify us and we will take over. But we want you guys to do the work." He surveyed the six of us, "I'll take it you're agreeable. Take a minute to go over the information in front of you while I get a cup of coffee. Then we'll go through it together before I leave you with my contact information."

* * *

We spent the next three hours poring over the files. Apparently, my half brother had gotten into his fair share of trouble over the last 20 years nothing that got him legal trouble but enough that you'd keep looking over your shoulder. It was kind of impressive for a banker.

In fact, there was only one piece of information that seemed to be missing from the file, "Agent Clark, just one more thing."

"Mr. Castle?"

"There's nothing in here about his family."

"Well, Mr. Castle, you're actually the only family we've met. Mr. Caldwell apparently lost his mother at a fairly young age and he and his father have been estranged for since he was 17. Mr. Caldwell put himself through school, eventually, while working as a bank teller for the same company that eventually promoted him to Asian Accounts."

I frown at the page in front of me, well this isn't ideal, guess I'm not just going to stumble into my father after all. Beckett nudges me with her knee, "Well, we'll have to find him and notify him in the course of the investigation if we can find anything out." She stands exuding her natural grace and the supermodel esque stature that she uses to intimidate so many others aided by the heeled boots. "Agent Clark, you've been surprisingly helpful."

The boys stand, following suite. "Yeah for a fed you're not so bad," Espo declares.

"Thanks for your help," Ryan adds.

"It's been my pleasure Detectives, Mr. Castle. Captain I trust you'll keep me apprised if we need to take over."

"Of course Agent Clark. Let me walk you out." Captain Gates leads the way out of the conference room and NSA Guy follows.

Everyone turns to face me. "Well Castle I'm sorry for your loss." Ryan manages to say with a straight face, as they all sit smiles breaking out. Beckett taking advantage of the closed blinds to wrap a hand around my neck giving it a quick squeeze.

"Why don't you guys go talk to people in his old building, and we'll go to his office and see what we can flush out there."

"So we're treating this as a regular case?" I ask.

"Well how else would you go about it?" Epso asks me, all of their faces shifting to a little confused and worried about me. Both of them bouncing their eyes from me to Kate.

Kate clears her throat, "You guys go, start talking to people work the case like normal. Let me know if you get something." They nod and headed for the door, Ryan having the good sense to close it behind him.

"You ok Castle?"

I shake my head, trying to shake the feeling. "Yeah, just trying to wrap my head around this… Thought I was going to get a least get a lead on my father and it turns out he's still in the abstract."

She shakes her head, "Not abstract Castle we'll be able to track him down now we've got Mr. Watson's real name and social we'll be able to find him and notify him."

"But do I want to find him?"

"Well that is entirely up to you. But we should at least find out what happened to Ethan Caldwell to give you, your father, and anyone that knew him some closure, including the NSA guys. So if you want to find him then we'll find him." She stands again, a hand slipping under my arm to pull me up.

"We find the truth Castle. That's it. Everything else we can find out if just a bonus. Helps us see the whole picture but we only have to see as much as it takes to solve the case, and Ethan Caldwell deserves that much."

I take a deep breath, "Ok, yeah. You're right. Let's go."

She smiles and leads the way back to our coats, her phone starts ringing. "Hey Lanie... yeah ok we'll be there in 20... See you soon."

"Lanie's got something?" I hold up her coat so that she can slide her arms into it.

She turns smiling, "How'd you guess."

"I've spend a lot of time with Detectives."


	5. Thawed

**Chapter 5 - Thawed**

"I know how your killer beat the bio feed into the apartment," Lanie practically sings as I push open the door to her autopsy suite.

I smile at her, "What about the video feed?"

"That is Ryan's deal," she waves her hand nonchalantly, "but the on bio feed I got you covered."

"Ok so how?" Castle asks. He's trying to focus on the facts of the case, get submerged in the details of what would be a super cool case to him if it hadn't been his long last half brother sitting in the chair of the spaced age apartment.

"He was frozen."

"He was frozen?" We both say at the same time, differing levels of indignation and confusion lacing our voices.

"That should have shown up on the bio feed too." This is ridiculous, this case is definitely the most bizarre we've ever had and we haven't determined cause of death.

Lanie shakes her head, "Not if they let him come to room temperature before taking him back into the apartment."

"And then they shot him?"

"That's how we got a bullet through him, but we still haven't found it. He was frozen, so far that is cause of death. Then he was thawed, and brought to the apartment where he was shot in that chair and blood leaked from the wound since his heart wasn't pumping, which is why we found blood pooling. But under the microscope the cells all show signs of rupturing due to freezing." She clicks on the picture of what I know the cells showing signs of freezing.

"So the apartment isn't our crime scene?" Castle wonders aloud while pondering the sheet draped body on the slab.

"Doesn't look like it. Not if he didn't die there." I turn to him, hoping for a brainwave, something that would start making sense.

"So what do we do now?" Castle asks.

"We establish a timeline, so we're going to go to his office and see when the last time was that he went to work. We build that timeline and we'll figure it out, just like always." Turning back to Lanie, "How long do you think he was frozen for?"

"No clue." She shrugs, "It could have been long enough to freeze him or it could have been for weeks."

"It's gotta be less than weeks, otherwise the NSA would have known sooner. Caldwell checked in at least once a week with his handler to transfer the files he was copying." Castle reasons.

"Sounds reasonable to me. Anything else Lanie?"

She shakes her head, "Not as of now. The fingerprints match the ones I was sent over to verify, and the DNA sample. I haven't done the full autopsy yet so I'll let you know if anything else comes up."

* * *

The air felt sterile as it was pumped out into the white and glass walled office, I'm sure it was because it looked modern and felt clean but it also just depressing as we walked past the cubicles following a secretary with a too tight pencil skirt and a permanent look of boredom stuck on her face.

She opened the door to a small conference room ushering us inside. "Mr. Bishop will be with you shortly. There's coffee in the corner." With that, she left.

"Wow, do you think she could hate her job anymore?" Castle asks watch her leave with a mixture of pity, and genuine intrigue.

I laugh, "Probably if it didn't let her by those shoes, they cost five hundred dollars so they're paying her well."

Castle turns beaming to me, "Says the lady that has a collection of designer coats on a cop salary. Not to mention the shoes."

"Yes, well maybe I decided it was time to get a sugar daddy." I nudge his leg with mine.

"If you let me buy you anything then I might believe it."

"Tell you what you can buy me something pretty when we solve this case." I tell him as an older gentleman approaches the glass door speaking with what I would guess is an intern based on his age. He finishes giving the kid some sort of direction before pushing into the room. "Detective Beckett and..." he faults when he's just staring at Castle.

Castle recovers first, "Richard Castle. Apparently Mr. Caldwell was my half brother." He extends a hand to the stunned banker.

"Yes," the man shakes his head "sorry it's just you look exactly like him."

"You weren't the only one that suffered that shock." I assured him, as we all pulled out chairs and took our seats again. "Mr. Bishop what can you tell us about Ethan."

"Well he was a friendly enough guy, had a good mind for numbers and working with clients that's how he got promoted so quickly."

"Was he having any problems with anyone at the office, any of the clients?"

The banker shook his head, "Not really one of the accounts was requesting a new team but they wanted an entirely new team, not just replacing Ethan but everyone else they were working with too. It was that or they would leave the firm.

"Did they give you any reason for that?

"No," he shakes his head, pursing his lips as he thinks it over, "just said they didn't get along with the team."

"Did that strike you as strange?"

"A little bit, but the company had just been bought out so I think they were looking for new information and new sets of eyes..."

"Is there anything else interesting that you noticed in the last couple of days?"

He takes the time to stop and think about it before he slowly shakes his head, "No, not really."

Castle lets out a little sigh beside me; it's the first noise he's made since introducing himself. He's frustrated because we are getting nowhere. Shifting my attention back to the bank I smile, trying to put him at ease, "Ok, well thank you. Do you mind if we talk to a few of his coworkers?"

Straightening his bowtie, Mr. Bishop shakes his head, "Not at all."

Standing, "Great if you think of anything else just let me know." I tell the old banker handing over my card, just as my phone starts to ring. "Sorry I have to get this" I smile at Castle before stepping out of the room leaving Castle to have a few words with the man while I take the call from Ryan.

"Did you get something Ryan?"

"Some stuff that can wait but there's someone here to see the lead on Ethan Caldwell's case." I can feel Ryan's jitters through the phone.

I know what's coming but I have to ask, "Who is it Ryan?"

"Beckett, he says he's Eric Caldwell, Ethan Caldwell's estranged father..."

"Making him Castle's estranged father as well." I finish for him, looking back in at my partner.

"Beckett, what do you want us to do? We could probably get Gates to do the talking and have him out of here before you guys get back."

"Um no rush..." I shove my hand through my hair, giving myself a second to think. "We'll head back. Mr. Caldwell deserves the same treatment as every other family member. I'll come back, and give Castle the option."

"Give me the option to what?" Castle asks coming up behind me.

"Go back to the station with me or head home." I answer, slowly turning around to face him hanging up on Ryan.

He looks appropriately puzzled, "Why would I go home? It's only..." he pulls out his phone, "three in the afternoon. Beside I thought we were doing more interviews here first."

The little conference room we were in is still empty so I pull him back inside. "Ethan's father is at the station asking to speak with the lead detective."

"Ethan's father..." His eyes go wide and the realization crashes over him, "You mean my father is at the station wanting to speak with you? I thought they'd been estranged for years. What is he doing at the station?"

"Castle, it's completely up to you. I'll take you home if you want it's totally up to you but I have to go in and talk to him."

A breath whooshed out of him as he collapsed into the chair behind him closing his eyes. He stayed that way for a solid minute before looking up at me. "I'll come."

"Are you sure?"

"I won't meet him just yet but I'll come, get a look at him. Work with the guys on building the timeline while you talk to him."


	6. Hunting

**Chapter 6 – Choked Sob**

Castle is sitting in the interview room. Well, Castle in thirty years is. His hair has gone stark white, but he still has a full head of it. There are laugh lines around his eyes, he's aged well. There's a wedding ring on his finger that he's fiddling with as he looks at me. I don't know where to start. I feel like I'm looking into a mirror and seeing my future.

Sucking in a deep breath "Mr. Caldwell I'm Detective Beckett, I'm in charge of your son's case," I introduce myself taking the seat across from him.

"Oh hi... I was just wondering if you knew anything." He's jittery with nerves, and seemingly on the verge of tears, "Sorry, I just... he called me three weeks ago said he wanted to move past our fight, that he wanted me in his life again... and then today we were supposed to meet for lunch but he didn't come so I went to the address he gave me for his apartment, but the scary doorman told me it was a crime scene..." a tear finally escapes runs down his cheek, "he sent me here. But this is the homicide division. Is my son dead?"

"I'm so sorry for your loss, we found your son in his home yesterday morning."

There's that choked sob that seems to always wrack every person in the room. "We hadn't talked in nearly twenty years, today was going to be the first time we had seen each other since his high school graduation."

He stands shoving his hands in his pockets, looking for something to do, somewhere to go. And must give up because he sits back down. "Mr. Caldwell I know this is difficult for you but is there anything in your recent conversations that might have hinted that he thought he was in trouble?"

"Yeah, he said that's why he called. He was making some changes in his life for the better and getting back in touch with me was one of them." He made that same face that Castle does when he's really concern and worried about me or Alexis.

I have this unnatural impulse to reach out and give his arm a squeeze, his mannerisms making me react instinctively, just as if I would if I saw Castle in this kind of distress. Reining in my own emotions, "Did he mention any details?"

He shakes his head, "No, no nothing... It's just I thought that I was getting my son back. He's all I have left, my second wife passed last year from cancer and Ethan's mom was killed in a car accident, and now he's gone." He's standing again crossing the room, looking out the window into the bullpen. Not really taking anything in he just stood there for a moment.

"Mr. Caldwell, I we'll let…"

But he cut across me, "Detective if my son is dead then who is that standing over at that white board?" Then he was out of the room before I had a chance to even begin to tell him what was happening.

"Ethan!" He calls across the bullpen, the three boys spin around to look at me. Castle is absolutely panic stricken.

"Mr. Caldwell!" I yell trying to get his attention, "Mr. Caldwell we need to discuss something else."

"It can wait, Detective. I want to talk to my son first." He snaps at me, "Ethan it's me. It's dad."

The entire precinct has gone deathly quiet, everyone is just watching this train wreck. Castle seems to recover first, clearing his throat he draws himself upright, crossing the room to us. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Caldwell," he pauses eyes hitting mine for just a second, "I'm Richard Castle. Why don't we step back in here and talk for a minute with Detective Beckett."

Now Mr. Caldwell is looking like he's been struck over the head, "Richard Castle? But you look just like Ethan." Castle and I follow the elder Caldwell into the interview room again and barely managed to close the door before he started again, "Ethan, you're not in witness protection are you?"

I can't leave Castle to flounder, "Mr. Caldwell there's been a huge misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

Castle takes a breath, "Mr. Caldwell I don't know how to tell you this but I am your son, just not Ethan... Ethan as it turns out was my half brother."

Mr. Caldwell flops back on the sofa his mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out, "My son... half-brother... You're my son?"

"We ran the DNA test when we found him, their appearances were too similar not too." I explain how we came to this life altering news.

The air in the room has gone completely still as father and son just look at each other for a long minute. Castle is sinking into the chair across from him, and I give up fighting the compulsion to cross to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. He brings and hand up tangling his fingers with mine, and I relaxing knowing that this is what he needs, just a hand to hold onto.

Mr. Caldwell is studying Castle closely, eyes sweeping over the jaw, cheekbones and eyes that I know so well. "How old are you?" Mr. Caldwell seems to have finally found his voice.

"41. My mother is an actress Martha Rodgers." Castle offers hopefully. Maybe that detail will spark something for Mr. Caldwell, "She says she got pregnant while doing a traveling show of the _Merchant of Venice_ the summer before."

Mr. Caldwell is quite dropping into a state of melancholy, "I met my first wife, Ethan's mom, that fall." He sighs in that exaggerated way that Castle does when he's struggling with something. "I'm sorry. You said your name is Richard Castle? The Mystery Author?"

Castle nods his head slowly. "That's me."

"Karen loved your books. That Nikki Heat kept her smiling even when the chemo got to be too much." He breaks down and sobs, "I'm sorry this is too much... um can we... I..."

Pulling a card from his wallet, Castle hands it over to him. "Here's my contact info you can call me anytime, or call the station, someone will let me know."

Handing over my own card now, "Mr. Caldwell here's my card if you think of anything Ethan might have told you, or you need to get a hold of Rick, let me know."

He nods even as tears roll slowly down his face, "Yeah I will... I'll let you get back to work." He stands wiping his face quickly.

"I'll walk you out." I offer, trying to make this as smooth as possible.

He shakes his head, "No that's alright. I can find it." He stops and looks at Castle hard, "You're definitely not Ethan. He had a birthmark by his ear, but I can't deny that you look enough like him to be my son. Maybe when you find out who did this we can have lunch? It would seem that you're the only family I have left."

Castle smiles slowly and he nods, "Yeah I'd like that."

Mr. Caldwell nods, he doesn't really seem capable of further speech because he just nods and heads out of the room.

Castle comes to stand next to me, his fingers seeking mine as we watch his father leave. It's not until the elevator doors close that he lets out a breath. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Okay, is a relative term. But as well as a 40 year old can be for having just met his father thanks to finding his brother dead while following his girlfriend around at work." He's smirking and just a little bit, so he's doing ok, and so I laugh giving his fingers a squeeze.

"Yeah you're doing ok. You want to go home, or go back to work?"

"Let's go back to work; we were just finishing the timeline when we got interrupted." He regretfully untangles our fingers, "Hopefully the boys have found something."


End file.
